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Assessments and Measures of Effectiveness in Stability Operations Handbook

Handbook 10-41
May 2010

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Appendix C - Internet Resources and Research Techniques

Internet Resources

Listed here are Web sites that can be accessed on the Internet to provide background and understanding on governments, leaders, infrastructure, and regions. Research of the operational area and its populations and infrastructure are necessary in understanding the problems that cause instability. The following unclassified resources are available online:

The World Factbook

• The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities. Its reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions as well as flags of the world, a physical map of the world, a political map of the world, and a map of the standard time zones of the world.
• The Web site is "https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/".

World leaders

• The Central Intelligence Agency publishes and updates the online directory of chiefs of state and cabinet members of foreign governments regularly. The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practical; some of them are not officially recognized by the United States (U.S.).
• Governments are listed in alphabetical order according to the most commonly used version of each country's name. The spelling of the personal names in this directory follows transliteration systems generally agreed upon by U.S. government agencies except in the cases in which officials have stated a preference for alternate spellings of their names.
• The Web site is "https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/index.html".

U.S. State Department

• Country Information and Background Notes publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of almost 200 countries and dependencies. It is possible to get the latest information from e-mail updates available from this Web site.
• The Web site is "http://www.state.gov/countries/".

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

• USAID plays a vital role in promoting U.S. national security, foreign policy, and the fight against terrorism. It does so by addressing poverty fueled by lack of economic opportunity, one of the root causes of violence today. As stated in the President's National Security Strategy, USAID's work in development joins diplomacy and defense as one of three key pieces of the nation's foreign policy apparatus. USAID promotes peace and stability by fostering economic growth, protecting human health, providing emergency humanitarian assistance, and enhancing democracy in developing countries. These efforts to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide represent U.S. values and advances U.S. interests for peace and prosperity. USAID mission press releases provide insight and updates for USAID activities in countries and regions.
• USAID's Web site is "http://www.usaid.gov/press/missions/".

Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC)

• The JWAC is a premier science and engineering institution tasked with solving complex challenges for the nation's warfighters. The JWAC uses social and physical science techniques and engineering expertise to assist warfighters in support of national security. The JWAC coordinates directly with the staffs of all unified commands, combatant commands, Department of Defense elements, military services, and other government departments and agencies to protect the U.S. and help the nation's armed forces accomplish their missions.
• The JWAC can be reached through military channels or at "www.jwac.mil".

Economic reports about countries worldwide

• The Web site for the U.S. Department of State, Economics and Energy is "http://www.state.gov/e/".
• U.S. government online bookstore.
• Locate and order publications (books, maps, serials, videos, CD-ROMs, and subscriptions) available for sale through the superintendent of documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO Access is a service that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal government.
• The Web site is "http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.jsp".
• Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).
• The FDLP desktop serves as a centralized resource for disseminating U.S. government information to the American public through libraries across the nation. Stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and progress of the program and utilize various tools to enhance public services.
• The Web site is "http://www.fdlp.gov/".
• Other commercial companies may be helpful such as U.S. Economy and News, New York Times Economic News, CNN Money Economy, Moody's Economy, Economic News by the BBC, and The Economist's Economic Intelligence Unit.

Internet Research Techniques and Procedures

Plan research by using the following steps:

• Use mission and specific information requirements to determine objective and search terms.
• Record all search terms for future reference and follow up research.
• Collaborate with other analysts to determine information sources.
• Select search tools and sources that will satisfy the objective.
• Comply with any legal restrictions.
• Determine operations and computer security measures.
• Have a plan to prevent any spillage of classified or sensitive material to unclassified documents.

Conduct search using the following:

• Search using keywords.
• Search in natural language.
• Use commercial search engines and map programs as appropriate.

Refine the search by the following means:

• Compare the relevance of the results to the objective and indicators.
• Compare the accuracy of the results and to search parameters (key words, phrase, date or date range, language, and format).
• Compare results from different search engines to identify missing or incomplete information (for example, the results of one search has news articles and the other does not).
• Modify keywords/search terms as required.
• Search within results (to save time and effort).
• Search by field.
• Search cached and archived pages.
• Truncate suffixes from the uniform resource locator; this will bring up the home or main page and access to other pages on the site.

Recording results should include the following:

• Record results for the search. Print relevant material for a back-up file.
• Bookmark Web pages for further research and access.
• Save and organize content.
• Download files for access and archiving.
• Record citations for use in completed products.
• Identify intellectual property.

Assess results in the following way:

• Evaluate source reliability.
• Evaluate information accuracy.

Important considerations include the following:

• Searching the Internet can compromise operations security (OPSEC) by leaving "footprints" on visited sites. Searches should be coordinated with the OPSEC plan.
• Internet sites can compromise computer and network security by downloading malicious software.
• Search engines vary in how they search and display results.
• Search engine results build only an index of Internet sites and files.
• Save research for information sharing with other U.S. government departments and agencies, coalition partners, or deploying units.

Sources of cultural knowledge include:

• The Center for Intercultural Learning, Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/intercultural_issues-en.asp?lvl=8&ISO=AF&SubjectID=2".
• The Library of Congress Country Studies, "http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html".
• The University of Texas at Austin, Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, "http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/".

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